linux install without a cd

[capaci]

i want to install linux on a machine that does not have a working cd drive. it's an internal cd drive in a laptop that doesn't work anymore. is there a way to boot with a floppy then install through the internet? thanks.

[Choozo]

Depending on the distro, yes.
Have a look at the INSTALL instructions for your choice of distro.

Cheers :)

[capaci]

do you know of any distros that do support this? i use gentoo on my machine and can't find anything about a network install. i'll try a different distro as long as it supports this because i have no other way unless i go out and buy an external cd drive, which i don't want to do.

[Choozo]

Gentoo should do fine with a stage1(?) install, but it will probably take the better part of a week to complete the basic install?

SuSE also have a network install as their (only) free option available.

[capaci]

i'll check out suse. with gentoo i'm pretty sure you need to boot with the cd. i can't find a floppy boot disk anywhere. and yea, on the machine i'm going to install on a stage 1 would take forever. thanks a lot.